Managing request routing information utilizing client identifiers

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods for managing requesting routing functionality associated with resource requests for one or more resources associated with a content provider are provided. The request routing functionality can correspond to the processing of domain name service (“DNS”) requests for resources by computing devices and the resolution of the DNS requests by the identification of a network address of a computing device that will provide the requested resources. Based on the processing of DNS queries initiated by a client computing device, a CDN service provider can correlate client computing device identifiers, such as an Internet Protocol (“IP”) address, with identifiers (e.g., IP addresses) associated with other components in a content delivery environment, such as DNS resolvers associated with the client computing device.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/892,777, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,712,484, entitled “MANAGING REQUEST ROUTING INFORMATION UTILIZING CLIENT IDENTIFIERS” and filed Sep. 28, 2010, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

Generally described, computing devices and communication networks can be utilized to exchange information. In a common application, a computing device can request content from another computing device via the communication network. For example, a user at a personal computing device can utilize a software browser application to request a Web page from a server computing device via the Internet. In such embodiments, the user computing device can be referred to as a client computing device and the server computing device can be referred to as a content provider.

Content providers are generally motivated to provide requested content to client computing devices often with consideration of efficient transmission of the requested content to the client computing device and/or consideration of a cost associated with the transmission of the content. For larger scale implementations, a content provider may receive content requests from a high volume of client computing devices which can place a strain on the content provider's computing resources. Additionally, the content requested by the client computing devices may have a number of components, which can further place additional strain on the content provider's computing resources.

With reference to an illustrative example, a requested Web page, or original content, may be associated with a number of additional resources, such as images or videos, which are to be displayed with the Web page. In one specific embodiment, the additional resources of the Web page are identified by a number of embedded resource identifiers, such as uniform resource locators (“URLs”). In turn, software on the client computing devices typically processes embedded resource identifiers to generate requests for the content. Often, the resource identifiers associated with the embedded resources reference a computing device associated with the content provider such that the client computing device would transmit the request for the additional resources to the referenced content provider computing device. Accordingly, in order to satisfy a content request, the content provider would provide client computing devices data associated with the Web page as well as the data associated with the embedded resources.

Some content providers attempt to facilitate the delivery of requested content, such as Web pages and/or resources identified in Web pages, through the utilization of a content delivery network (“CDN”) service provider. A CDN service provider typically maintains a number of computing devices in a communication network that can maintain content from various content providers. In turn, content providers can instruct, or otherwise suggest to, client computing devices to request some, or all, of the content provider's content from the CDN service provider's computing devices.

As with content providers, CDN service providers are also generally motivated to provide requested content to client computing devices often with consideration of efficient transmission of the requested content to the client computing device and/or consideration of a cost associated with the transmission of the content. Accordingly, CDN service providers often consider factors such as latency of delivery of requested content in order to meet service level agreements or to generally improve the quality of delivery service. Additionally, in embodiments in which computing devices utilize an Internet service provider (“ISP”) to provide connectivity, the CDN service provider can consider additional factors associated with the interaction between the CDN service provider, client computing and ISP devices, such as a DNS resolver component.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing aspects and many of the attendant advantages of this invention will become more readily appreciated as the same become better understood by reference to the following detailed description, when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrative of a content delivery environment including a number of client computing devices, a content provider, and a content delivery network service provider;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the content delivery environment of FIG. 1 illustrating the registration of a content provider with a CDN service provider;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the content delivery environment of FIG. 1 illustrating the generation of resource requests by a client computing device;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of the content delivery environment of FIG. 1 illustrating the generation of embedded resource requests by a client computing device;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of the content delivery environment of FIG. 1 illustrating the generation of DNS queries by a client computing device to a CDN service provider;

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of the content delivery environment of FIG. 1 illustrating the generation of resource requests by a client computing device;

FIG. 7 is a flow diagram illustrative of a client computing device IP address mapping routine implemented by a CDN service provider; and

FIG. 8 is a flow diagram illustrative of a request routing processing routine implemented by a service provider.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Generally described, the present disclosure is directed to managing requesting routing functionality associated with resource requests for one or more resources associated with a content provider. Specifically, aspects of the disclosure will be described with regard to the management and processing request routing functionality by a service provider, such as a content delivery network (“CDN”) service provider, on behalf of a content provider. Illustratively, the request routing functionality can correspond to the processing of domain name service (“DNS”) requests for resources by computing devices and the resolution of the DNS requests by the identification of a network address of a computing device that will provide the requested resources. Based on the processing of DNS queries initiated by a client computing device, the CDN service provider can correlate client computing device identifiers, such as an Internet Protocol (“IP”) address, with identifiers (e.g., IP addresses) associated with other components in a content delivery environment. Examples of the other components can include DNS resolvers associated with the client computing device. In a further embodiment, the CDN service provider can utilize the correlated information to optimize client computing device resource requests received from a DNS resolver component based, at least in part, on correlated information.

Although various aspects of the disclosure will be described with regard to illustrative examples and embodiments, one skilled in the art will appreciate that the disclosed embodiments and examples should not be construed as limiting. For example, the present disclosure may be described with regard to request routing services provided by a service provider, such as a CDN service provider, that may provide additional services and functionality including network-based storage services, caching services, application hosting, or other services. However, one skilled in the relevant art will appreciate that a service provider need not provide all, or any, of the additional services or functionality that may be associated with some service providers, such as a CDN service provider.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrative of a content delivery environment 100 for the managing registration of a content provider with a service provider, such as a CDN service provider, and subsequent processing of at least a portion of content requests on behalf of the content provider. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the content delivery environment 100 includes a number of client computing devices 102 (generally referred to as clients) for requesting content from a content provider, a network storage provider 110, and/or a CDN service provider 106. In an illustrative embodiment, the client computing devices 102 can correspond to a wide variety of computing devices including personal computing devices, laptop computing devices, hand-held computing devices, terminal computing devices, mobile devices, wireless devices, various electronic devices and appliances and the like. In an illustrative embodiment, the client computing devices 102 include necessary hardware and software components for establishing communications over a communication network 110, such as a wide area network or local area network. For example, the client computing devices 102 may be equipped with networking equipment and browser software applications that facilitate communications via the Internet or an intranet.

Illustratively, at least some of the client computing devices 102 utilize a DNS resolver component 108, such as a DNS Name server, that receives DNS queries from a client computing device 102 and then generates the DNS queries attributed to the client computing device, or on behalf of the client computing device. In one embodiment, the DNS resolver component 108 may be a local DNS component provided by an enterprise network to which the client computing device 102 belongs. In another embodiment, the local DNS resolver component 108 may be provided by an Internet Service Provider (“ISP”) that provides the communication network connection to the client computing device 102. In embodiments in which the client computing devices 102 utilize a DNS resolver component 108, one skilled in the relevant art will appreciate that the DNS queries generated on behalf of the client computing devices would be associated with the IP address of the DNS resolver component 108 in accordance with a traditional networking protocols.

The content delivery environment 100 can also include a content provider 104 in communication with the one or more client computing devices 102 via the communication network 110. The content provider 104 illustrated in FIG. 1 corresponds to a logical association of one or more computing devices associated with a content provider. Specifically, the content provider 104 can include a web server component 112 corresponding to one or more server computing devices for obtaining and processing requests for content (such as Web pages) from the client computing devices 102. The content provider 104 can further include an origin server component 114 and associated storage component 116 corresponding to one or more computing devices for obtaining and processing requests for network resources. One skilled in the relevant art will appreciate that the content provider 104 can be associated with various additional computing resources, such additional computing devices for administration of content and resources and the like. Additionally, although the origin server component 114 and associated storage component 116 are logically associated with the content provider 104, the origin server component 114 and associated storage components 116 may be geographically distributed throughout the communication network 110 in a manner to best serve various demographics of client computing devices 102.

Although not illustrated in FIG. 1, the content provider 104 can be associated with a number of additional or supplement components to facilitate interaction with client computing devices 102 or service providers. For example, a content provider 104 may maintain one or more DNS name server components that are operative to receive DNS queries related to registered domain names associated with the content provider 104. The one or more DNS name servers can be authoritative to resolve client computing device DNS queries corresponding to the registered domain names of the content provider 104. The content provider 104 can also maintain additional storage components, such as proxy servers, or utilize network storage service providers to maintain at least a portion of the content/resources provided to the client computing devices 102.

With continued reference to FIG. 1, the content delivery environment 100 can further include a service provider, generally referred to as the CDN service provider 106, in communication with the one or more client computing devices 102 and the content provider 104 via the communication network 110. The CDN service provider 106 illustrated in FIG. 1 corresponds to a logical association of one or more computing devices associated with a service provider. Specifically, the CDN service provider 106 can include a number of Point of Presence (“POP”) locations 118, 124 that correspond to nodes on the communication network 110. Each POP 118, 124 includes a DNS component 120, 126 made up of a number of DNS server computing devices for resolving DNS queries from the client computing devices 102. Each POP 118, 124 also optionally includes a resource cache component 122, 128 made up of a number of cache server computing devices for storing resources from content providers or network storage providers and transmitting various requested resources to various client computing devices 102. The DNS components 120, 126 and the resource cache components 122, 128 may further include additional software and/or hardware components that facilitate communications including, but not limited, load balancing or load sharing software/hardware components.

Still further, the CDN service provider 106 can include additional data stores for managing request routing information. Specifically, in an illustrative embodiment, the CDN service provider 106 can include a client ID mapping data store 130 for maintaining information correlating client computing device 102 identifiers, such as a client computing device IP address, with other identifiers, such as a DNS resolver 108 IP address. The CDN service provider 106 can further include a DNS request log data store 132 for maintaining information regarding DNS queries provided by the DNS resolvers 108 on behalf of client computing devices 102. Although the client ID mapping data store 130 and DNS request log data store 132 are illustrated as single, centrally located data stores, one skilled in the relevant art will appreciate that the data stores may be distributed among several data stores or be maintained, at least in part, among the POPs 118, 124.

In an illustrative embodiment, the DNS component 120, 126 and resource cache component 122, 128 are considered to be logically grouped, regardless of whether the components, or portions of the components, are physically separate. Additionally, although the POPs 118, 124 are illustrated in FIG. 1 as logically associated with the CDN service provider 106, the POPs will be geographically distributed throughout the communication network 110 in a manner to best serve various demographics of client computing devices 102. Additionally, one skilled in the relevant art will appreciate that the CDN service provider 106 can be associated with various additional computing resources, such additional computing devices for administration of content and resources, and the like. Even further, the components of the CDN service provider 106 can be managed by the same or different entities. One skilled in the relevant art will also appreciate that the components and configurations provided in FIG. 1 are illustrative in nature. Accordingly, additional or alternative components and/or configurations, especially regarding the additional components, systems and subsystems for facilitating communications may be utilized.

With reference now to FIGS. 2-6, the interaction between various components of the content delivery environment 100 of FIG. 1 will be illustrated. For purposes of the example, however, the illustration has been simplified such that many of the components utilized to facilitate communications are not shown. One skilled in the relevant art will appreciate that such components can be utilized and that additional interactions would accordingly occur without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure.

With reference to FIG. 2, an illustrative interaction for the optional registration of a content provider 104 with the CDN service provider 106 for hosting content on behalf of the content provider 104 will be described. As illustrated in FIG. 2, the CDN service provider content registration process begins with registration of the content provider 104 with the CDN service provider 106. In an illustrative embodiment, the content provider 104 utilizes a registration application program interface (“API”) to register with the CDN service provider 106 such that the CDN service provider 106 can provide content on behalf of the content provider 104, or at least perform the processes described herein. Illustratively, the registration API can include the identification of the origin server 114 of the content provider 104 that may provide requested resources to the CDN service provider 106. In addition or alternatively, the registration API can include the content to be stored by the CDN service provider 106 on behalf of the content provider 104. Additionally, the content provider 104 can specify one or more network storage providers (not illustrated) that may act as an origin server for the content provider 104.

With continued reference to FIG. 2, upon receiving the registration API, the CDN service provider 106 obtains the registration information and generates, or otherwise obtains, embedded resource identifiers that will be utilized in the mapping of client identifiers. In an illustrative embodiment, and as will be explained in greater detail below, the embedded resource identifiers correspond to data or instructions that are processed by the client computing devices 102 to cause the client computing devices 102 to request specific resources from the CDN service provider 106. The request for specific resources from the CDN service provider 106 will result in the collection of client computing devices identifiers, e.g., IP addresses, associated with the resource request. As will be explained in greater detail below, the collected identifiers will be correlated with identifiers in a subsequent DNS query. Illustratively, the requesting of content corresponding to the embedded resource identifier provided by the CDN service provider 106 may not result in the transmittal of actual content by the CDN service provider 106.

The CDN service provider 106 returns the embedded resource identifiers to the content provider 104 along with any additional information. In turn, the content provider 104 can then store for the embedded resource identifiers for embedding in requested content or otherwise embed (or associate) the embedded resource identifiers with requested content (such as Web page markup language). In an illustrative embodiment, the embedded resource identifiers can be applicable to multiple content providers 104. Alternatively, the embedded resource identifiers can be unique to each particular content provider 104. Still further, the CDN service provider 106 may provide additional logic to the content providers 104 that controls the circumstances and/or methodologies for embedding the embedded resource identifiers into content. For example, the embedded resource identifiers can include instructions (or executable code) that defines that the type of content (e.g., specific Web pages) for which the embedded resource identifiers will apply.

With reference now to FIG. 3, after completion of the registration and embedding processes illustrated in FIG. 2, a client computing device 102 generates a content request that is received and processed by the content provider 104, such as through the Web server 110. In accordance with an illustrative embodiment, the request for content can be in accordance with common network protocols, such as the hypertext transfer protocol (“HTTP”). Upon receipt of the content request, the content provider identifies the appropriate responsive content. In an illustrative embodiment, the requested content can correspond to a Web page that is displayed on the client computing device 102 via the processing of information, such as hypertext markup language (“HTML”), extensible markup language (“XML”), and the like. The requested content can also include a number of embedded resource identifiers that corresponds to resource objects that should be obtained by the client computing device 102 as part of the processing of the requested content. The embedded resources can correspond to multi-media content, such as images, videos, text, etc. that will be processed by the client computing devices 102 and rendered on output device. Additionally, the requested content will also include the additional embedded resource identifiers, instructions, executable code or logic previously provided by the CDN service provider 106 (FIG. 2). In an illustrative embodiment, the embedded resource identifiers, instructions, executable code or logic previously provided by the CDN service provider 106 can be arranged in a manner such that it is processed prior to processing any other of the content in the requested content or processed in the earlier stages of the processing of the requested content, as allowed. Alternatively, the embedded resource embedded resource identifiers, instructions, executable code or logic previously provided by the CDN service provider 106 can also be arranged such that it is processed after all any other embedded resources are process so as to mitigate any type of interference or delay in the processing of other embedded resources/identifiers.

Generally, the identification of the embedded resources provided by the content provider 104 will be in the form of embedded resource identifiers that can be processed by the client computing device 102, such as through a browser software application. In an illustrative embodiment, the resource identifiers can be in the form of a uniform resource locator (“URL”). For purposes of an illustrative example, the URL can identify a domain of the content provider 104 (e.g., contentprovider.com) or CDN service provider 106 (e.g., CDNserviceprovider), a name of the resource to be requested (e.g., “resource.xxx”) and a path where the resource will be found (e.g., “path”). One skilled in the relevant art will appreciate that the identified domain could correspond to third parties as well. By way of an illustrative example, the URLs of the embedded resource have the form of:

http://www.contentprovider.com/path/resource.xxx or

http://www.CDNserviceprovider.com/path/resource.xxx

Additionally, in an illustrative embodiment, the embedded resource previously provided by the CDN service provider 106 will also be in the form of a resource identifier (e.g., URLs) that can be processed by the client computing device 102, such as through a browser software application. For purposes of an illustrative example, the URL can identify a domain of the CDN service provider 106 (e.g., CDNserviceprovider.com), a name of a resource to be requested (e.g., “resource.xxx”) and a path where the resource will be found (e.g., “path”). As will be explained in greater detail, the embedded resource previously provided by the CDN service provider 106 will identify a special resource such that a request for the special resource may not result in the delivery of an actual resource to the requesting client computing device 102. In this illustrative example, the URLs of the embedded resource have the form of:

http://www.CDNserviceprovider.com/path/resource.xxx

With reference now to FIG. 4, upon receipt of the requested content, including the embedded resource identifiers, instructions, executable code or logic previously provided by the CDN service provider 106, the client computing device 102 processes the received information in a manner that causes the client computing device 102 to request embedded resource previously provided by the CDN service provider 106 from the CDN service provider 106. In accordance with an embodiment utilizing the hypertext transfer protocol (“HTTP”), the request of a resource can correspond to a GET request transmitted by the client computing device 102 to an IP address associated with CDN service provider 106. Although not illustrated in FIG. 4, the client computing device 102 would first issue a DNS query for the embedded resource previously provided by the CDN service provider 106, which if properly resolved, would include the identification of the above mentioned IP address associated with the CDN service provider 106. One skilled in the relevant art will appreciate that the resolution of the DNS query may involve multiple DNS queries to either the content provider 104 or CDN service provider 106.

With continued reference to FIG. 4, upon receipt of the request for the embedded resource previously provided by the CDN service provider 106, the receiving POP, illustratively, POP 118, generates a unique identifier for utilization in tracking an identifier associated with the requesting client computing device, such as an IP address, in subsequent requests to the CDN service provider 106. Specifically, the unique identifier includes at least a portion of the identifier associated with the requesting client computing device 102. In an illustrative embodiment, the unique identifier generated by the CDN service provider 106 will be in the form of a URL that will be returned to the requesting client computing device 102. For purposes of an illustrative example, the URL can identify a domain of the CDN service provider 106 (e.g., “CDNserviceprovider.com”), an identification of the POP generating the unique identifier (e.g., “POP1”), and at least a portion of the identifier associated with the requesting client computing device. The URL can also include timestamp information associated with a time corresponding to the request (relative or absolute) and additional processing information. In this illustrative example, the URLs of the embedded resource have the form of:

http://uniqueID.additional_information.pop_identification.CDNserviceprovider.com

In this illustrative example, the label “uniqueID” can include the portion of the identifier associated with the requesting client computing device and the timestamp information. Responsive to the client computing device request, the CDN service provider 106 (via the receiving POP, POP 118) returns the requested content. In an illustrative embodiment, the CDN service provider 106 generates a response for the requested content that includes a command indicative of another location for the requested content. For example, the CDN service provider 106 can generate a LOCATION command in accordance with HTTP that identifies an alternate location for the requested content. Accordingly, the location included in the response sent by the CDN service provider 106 is the unique identifier in the form of the URL previously generated by the CDN service provider 106 and discussed above.

With reference now to FIG. 5, upon receipt of the response from the CDN service provider 106, the client computing device 102 processes the command that will cause the client computing device 102 to request the content from the identified alternative location. As illustrated in FIG. 5, in accordance with traditional communication protocols, the client computing device 102 would first transmit a DNS query through its DNS resolver 108 to request an IP address of a computing device corresponding to the unique identifier provided by the CDN service provider 106. In accordance with traditional request routing principles, the DNS query would be received by the DNS resolver 108 and then transmitted on behalf of the requesting client computing device 102.

By way of example, in accordance with traditional DNS request routing principles, a DNS query for the URL http://uniqueID.additional_information.pop_identification.CDNserviceprovider.com would first include the identification of a DNS server authoritative to the “.” and the “com” portions of the URL to the DNS resolver 108. The issuance of DNS queries corresponding to the “.” and the “com” portions of a URL are well known and have not been illustrated. After partially resolving the modified URL according to the “.” and “com” portions of the URL, the DNS resolver 108 then issues another DNS query for the resource URL that results in the identification of the DNS server corresponding to the “.CDNserviceprovider” portion of the URL, as illustrated in FIG. 5, illustrative as the DNS server component 120 of POP 118.

The receiving DNS server component 120 obtains the DNS query from the DNS resolver component 108 and processes the query. In an illustrative embodiment, the DNS server component 120 identifies the identifier associated with the DNS resolver 108 based on the received DNS query. The DNS server component 120 also extracts the at least a portion of the client computing device 102 identifier that was included in the URL, such as by parsing portions of the URL included in the DNS queries. The DNS server component 120 can also parse additional information included in the URL. Thereafter, the DNS server component 120 correlates and stores the collected information, such as in the client ID mapping data store 130 (either locally or centrally). Additionally, in accordance with traditional networking principles, because the DNS server component 120 is authoritative for the URL, the DNS server component 120 provides the DNS resolver 108 with the identification of an IP address that can provide the requested content, such as a resource cache component 122 of the POP 118.

Turning now to FIG. 6, upon receipt of the resolved DNS query, the client computing device 102 transmits a request for the content to the IP address corresponding to a resource cache component or storage component. The content request is received and processed by the corresponding resource cache component 122 (FIG. 1) and storage component. In one aspect, the resource cache component 122 can conduct measurements or record data that will be used by the CDN service provider 106 to measure request routing performance for client computing devices 102 or groups of client computing device 102 associated with particular DNS resolver components 108 or ISPs. In another aspect, the resource cache component 122 can return some type of confirmation to the client computing device 102. As previously described, in an illustrative embodiment, the client computing device 102 may not receive any type of content, so the confirmation may include no additional content or some type of null content.

With reference now to FIG. 7, one embodiment of a routine 700 implemented by the CDN service provider 106 for correlating client identifiers with other information will be described. One skilled in the relevant art will appreciate that actions/steps outlined for routine 700 may be implemented by one or many computing devices/components that are associated with the CDN service provider 106. Accordingly, routine 700 has been logically associated as being generally performed by the CDN service provider 106, and thus the following illustrative embodiments should not be construed as limiting.

At block 702, the CDN service provider 106 obtains a request for an embedded resource. As previously described, in an illustrative embodiment, the embedded resource may correspond to one of several embedded resources provided by a content provider 104 (FIG. 1) in response to an initial content request from a client computing device. The embedded resource can be in the form of a URL that results in the generation of the request by the client computing device 102 to the CDN service provider 106. At block 704, the CDN service provider 106 generates a unique client identifier in response to the content request. As previously described, in an illustrative embodiment, the unique client identifier can include at least a portion of a client identifier that is used by the client computing device 102, such as a client IP address. In an alternative embodiment, the unique client identifier can correspond to lookup code or other information that will be used by CDN service provider 106 to subsequently recall the client identifier. The unique client identifier can also include additional information identifying the client computing device 102, such as other networking address information, information associated with the request, time stamps, location information, etc., and information identifying a user associated with the client computing device 102, such as user identifiers, account identifiers, etc. In an illustrative example, the URLs of the embedded resource have the form of:

http://uniqueID.additional_information.pop_identification.CDNserviceprovider.com

At block 706, the CDN service provider 106 transmits the unique client identifier to the requesting client computing device 102. In an illustrative embodiment, the unique client identifier may be encrypted, encoded, or otherwise processed. At block 708, the CDN service provider 106 obtains a DNS query corresponding to the unique client identifier. As previously described, the DNS query can be submitted by a DNS resolver 108, or other component, on behalf of the client computing device 102 and received at a DNS name server component associated with the CDN service provider 106.

At block 710, the CDN service provider 106 obtains the client identifier information included in the DNS query and identifier information associated with the DNS query. Illustratively, the client identifier information includes at least a portion of the IP address associated with the client computing device 102. In such embodiment, the CDN service provider 106 can parse the DNS query to obtain the IP address information included in the unique identifier. In embodiments in which the unique identifier includes lookup information, the CDN service provider 106 would parse the lookup information and then obtain the relevant IP address information from a local or remote data store. With continued reference to block 710, the CDN service provider 106 can also obtain an IP address associated with the DNS resolver component 108 transmitted the DNS query on behalf of the client computing device. Still further, the CDN service provider 106 can parse and obtain any additional information included in the unique identifier or identified by additional lookup information included in the unique identifier.

At block 712, the CDN service provider 106 processes the client identifier and DNS resolver IP address information. Specifically, the CDN service provider 106 correlates the client identifier IP address information to resolver IP address information. The correlated information can be stored in the client ID mapping data store 130. The CDN service provider 106 can also record a timestamp corresponding to the received DNS query that can used to compare with the time stamp information included in the unique identifier. Still further, the CDN service provider 106 can process additional information, such as location information, user identifiers, etc. and associate the information with the DNS resolver IP address information. In still a further embodiment, the CDN service provider 106 can establish criteria that must be satisfied prior in order to begin utilizing the correlated information. For example, the CDN service provider 106 may establish a minimum number of correlated client computing identifiers that must be processed. In another example, a defined period of time must be expired prior to utilizing the correlated data. In such embodiments, the CDN service provider 106 may track the additional criteria as part of the processing of the client identifier and DNS resolver IP address information. At block 714, the CDN service provider 106 processes the DNS query by returning an IP address (or other responsive information) to the client computing device 102 via the DNS resolver 108. At block 716, the routine 700 terminates.

With reference now to FIG. 8, one embodiment of a request routing routine 800 for routing information based on mapped client computing device 102 identifiers and DNS resolver 108 identifiers will be described. Specifically, a service provider, such as the CDN service provider 106, can utilized correlated client computing device identifier information, such as correlated IP address information, to optimize request routing processing. One skilled in the relevant art will appreciate that actions/steps outlined for routine 800 may be implemented by one or many computing devices/components that are associated with the CDN service provider 106. Accordingly, routine 800 has been logically associated as being performed by the CDN service provider 106.

At a block 802, a receiving DNS server of the CDN service provider 106 receives a DNS query corresponding to a requested resource from a client computing device 102, which may be transmitted via a DNS resolver 108. As previously described, in the event the DNS query is transmitted via a DNS resolver 108, the receiving DNS server of the CDN service provider 106 cannot obtain an IP address, or other client identifier, directly from the DNS query. At block 804, the receiving DNS server of the CDN service provider 106 obtains correlated client identifier information based on processing the IP address associated with the DNS resolver 108.

At block 806, the CDN service provider 106 determines a class corresponding to the DNS resolver identifiers based on previously correlated information, as illustrated and discussed above. In an illustrative embodiment, classes can correspond to a specific geographic region to which client computing devices 102 belong. In another embodiment, classes can correspond to an ISP associated with the client computing devices 102 or the DNS resolver 108. In an illustrative embodiment, the determination of one or more classes can specifically include the association of requesting client computing devices 102 to a cluster of other client computing devices based on a variety of criteria. Such criteria can include geographic region and internet service provider data, as mentioned above, in addition to routing path information, networking equipment, client sponsored service level agreements, content provider service level agreements, and the like.

Also at block 808, the DNS server attempts to resolve the DNS query by identifying cache routing information based on the determined class of the DNS resolver component 108. In an illustrative embodiment, a receiving DNS server of the CDN service provider 106 can determine whether it is authoritative to resolve the DNS query from the DNS resolver 108 there are no canonical name (“CNAME”) records corresponding to the received resource identifier, as is known in the general art. If no CNAME records correspond to the received resource identifier, the receiving DNS server selects an appropriate resource cache component for providing content associated with the resource request based on routing information for the above determined class. The receiving DNS server then resolves the DNS query by providing IP address information associated with the selected resource cache component to the requesting DNS resolver 108.

In an illustrative embodiment, each receiving DNS server of the CDN server provider 106 may have the same or different request routing information that is used to process the DNS query according to class. For example, DNS server components may have different request routing information based on the physical or logical location of its associated POP within a communication network. In another example, DNS server components may have different request routing information based on contractual agreements, such as service level agreements. Accordingly, DNS queries received at two different DNS server components of the CDN service provider 106 may be processed differently.

In an illustrative embodiment, the resolution of the DNS query can correspond to a selection of one or more resource cache components from a list of resource cache components capable of servicing the content request for a particular class of client computing devices 102 or DNS resolvers 102. Accordingly, the receiving DNS server can use a variety of logic to select a resource cache component from the list. In one embodiment, a probabilistic based distribution of resource cache components can be defined such that a receiving DNS server selects a resource cache component based on the determined distributions. For example, a receiving DNS server will most frequently select the resource cache component with the highest probability of selection/distribution (e.g., a resource cache component associated with 75% of all DNS queries for a particular client computing device 102 or DNS resolver component 108), but can also, at times, select a resource cache component with a lower probability of selection. In this case, the probabilities correspond to anticipated performance of the selected computing device 102 or DNS resolver component 108. As will be described further below, the CDN service provider 106 can monitor performance of delivering requested resources to clients in a particular class and thereafter update the routing information (e.g., probabilities) accordingly. In other embodiments, the probabilities can correspond to load shedding or other network traffic mitigation. By periodically selecting a non-preferred resource cache component and monitoring its performance for the class, the CDN service provider 106 can thus determine if changes to the routing information for the class are desirable.

In another embodiment, the receiving DNS server can utilize alternative or additional criteria, in selecting one or more resource cache components capable of servicing the content request for a particular class of client computing devices 102 or DNS resolvers 102. For example, the receiving DNS server can utilize geographic information or logical network information associated with specific client computing device IP address correlated to the DNS resolver 108. In another example, the receiving DNS server can utilize network conditions, often referred to as “Internet weather”, in determining which resource cache components may be capable of servicing the content request. In this example, the receiving DNS server may utilize criteria such as a minimum or threshold performance level for the class of computing devices, such as latency, that must be delivered by the selected resource cache components. Other criteria can include selecting an average performance level for the class of computing devices, such as latency, that must be delivered by the selected resource cache components. In a further example, the receiving DNS server can utilize contractual criteria, such as service level agreements, associated with client computing devices 102, enterprises or ISPs to process DNS queries for a class of client computing device 102 or DNS resolvers 108.

At block 810, the CDN service provider 106 monitors network performance criteria associated with delivery of the requested resource is monitored. The network performance criteria can correspond to measurements of network performance for transmitting data from the CDN service provider POPs to the client computing device 102. In one embodiment, network data transfer latencies associated with the delivery of the requested resource is measured by the client computing device 102. Alternatively, the CDN service provider 106, such as through the resource cache component, can measure the performance as part of providing content to a client computing device 102. Such network performance data can be managed and maintained globally by the CDN service provider and shared with the DNS servers of the CDN or individually by the DNS servers of the CDN service provider. Moreover, network performance criteria can be provided as a batch process from POPs or sent in response to a request from one POP to another.

At decision block 812, a determination is made as to whether an update to the routing information for the identified class is needed based on the performance data. In one embodiment, the update determination can be made by the CDN service provider 106 globally or by the individual DNS service components or DNS servers. In an illustrative embodiment where individual DNS servers determine whether to update routing information for a class, each DNS server can manage and maintain routing information for the identified class unique to the particular DNS server. In this illustrative embodiment, the performance data can be maintained globally by the CDN service provider 106 and shared with the DNS components and/or DNS servers, with each DNS component and/or DNS server managing how the performance data is used. Accordingly, routing information for a class may vary from one DNS component/server to another.

If an update is needed at decision block 812, the routing information for the identified class is modified at block 814. In one embodiment, the CDN service provider 106 modifies a list of computing devices (e.g. DNS components/servers and/or resource cache components) for servicing a resource request from a particular class of client computing devices 102 or DNS resolver component 108. In another embodiment, the CDN service provider 106 and/or specific DNS components/servers can maintain and modify probabilities of selection of particular computing devices for servicing a resource request for a class of client computing devices. For example, if performance data indicates that a DNS server and/or a resource cache component which has a lower probability of selection has performed well, the probability of selection may be increased so that the particular DNS server and/or resource cache component will be selected more frequently for servicing a resource request from a client computing device. After a modification has been made at block 814, or if an update is not needed at decision block 812, the routine 800 returns to block 802 for further processing as described above.

It will be appreciated by one skilled in the relevant art that there are a number of ways to modify the routing information associated with requests from a class of client computing devices. It will further be appreciated by one skilled in the relevant art that the timing at which performance is monitored and updates to routing information are made can vary.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art and others that all of the functions described in this disclosure may be embodied in software executed by one or more processors of the disclosed components and mobile communication devices. The software may be persistently stored in any type of non-volatile storage.

Conditional language, such as, among others, “can,” “could,” “might,” or “may,” unless specifically stated otherwise, or otherwise understood within the context as used, is generally intended to convey that certain embodiments include, while other embodiments do not include, certain features, elements and/or steps. Thus, such conditional language is not generally intended to imply that features, elements and/or steps are in any way required for one or more embodiments or that one or more embodiments necessarily include logic for deciding, with or without user input or prompting, whether these features, elements and/or steps are included or are to be performed in any particular embodiment.

Any process descriptions, elements, or blocks in the flow diagrams described herein and/or depicted in the attached figures should be understood as potentially representing modules, segments, or portions of code which include one or more executable instructions for implementing specific logical functions or steps in the process. Alternate implementations are included within the scope of the embodiments described herein in which elements or functions may be deleted, executed out of order from that shown or discussed, including substantially concurrently or in reverse order, depending on the functionality involved, as would be understood by those skilled in the art. It will further be appreciated that the data and/or components described above may be stored on a computer-readable medium and loaded into memory of the computing device using a drive mechanism associated with a computer readable storing the computer executable components such as a CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, or network interface further, the component and/or data can be included in a single device or distributed in any manner. Accordingly, general purpose computing devices may be configured to implement the processes, algorithms and methodology of the present disclosure with the processing and/or execution of the various data and/or components described above.

It should be emphasized that many variations and modifications may be made to the above-described embodiments, the elements of which are to be understood as being among other acceptable examples. All such modifications and variations are intended to be included herein within the scope of this disclosure and protected by the following claims. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A computer-implemented method comprising: obtaining, by a service provider, a first request for content from a first client computing device; determining, by the service provider, a first address associated with the first client computing device; generating, by the service provider, an alternative identifier responsive to the first request for content from the first client computing device, the alternative identifier comprising a uniform resource locator (URL), the alternative identifier including information related to the first address associated with the first client computing device and additional information not included in the first request for content in a domain name service (DNS) portion of the URL, the additional information associated with routing or processing the request for content, and the additional information comprising timestamp information associated with a first time corresponding to the first request for content from the first client computing device; transmitting, by the service provider, at least one instruction causing the first client computing device to generate a second request for content based on the alternative identifier; wherein the second request is associated with a second address corresponding to a DNS resolver component; receiving, by the service provider at a DNS server component, the second request for content based on the alternative identifier, the second request comprising a first DNS query; correlating, by the service provider at the DNS server component, the at least a portion of the first address associated with the first client computing device and the additional information included in the DNS portion of the URL with the second address and a second time corresponding to the second request for content for comparison with the first time corresponding to the first request for content to form correlated information; obtaining, by the service provider, a second DNS query from a second client computing device; and responsive to the second DNS query, at the service provider: determining a class associated with the second client computing device based at least in part on the correlated information; and resolving the second DNS query based on the determined class.
 2. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the at least one instruction causing the first client computing device to generate the subsequent request for content comprises a URL of the service provider.
 3. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the at least one instruction causing the first client computing device to generate the subsequent request for content comprises a URL of a content provider.
 4. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the additional information in the DNS portion of the alternative identifier comprises additional information identifying the first client computing device.
 5. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein generating the alternative identifier responsive to the request for content from the first client computing device includes encrypting the at least a portion of the obtained first address associated with the first client computing device.
 6. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the alternative identifier comprises a label representative of the at least a portion of the first address.
 7. The method as recited in claim 6, wherein the label representative of the at least a portion of the first address comprises a label representative of the timestamp information.
 8. The method as recited in claim 1 further comprising determining, by the service provider, a minimum number of correlated client computing identifiers that must be processed before utilizing the correlated information.
 9. A computer-implemented system comprising: one or more computing devices comprising a processor configured with specific computer executable instructions to: obtain, by a service provider, a first request for content from a first client computing device; determine, by the service provider, a first address associated with the first client computing device; generate, by the service provider, an alternative identifier responsive to the first request for content from the first client computing device, the alternative identifier comprising a uniform resource locator (URL), the alternative identifier including information related to the first address associated with the first client computing device and additional information not included in the first request for content in a domain name service (DNS) portion of the URL, the additional information associated with routing or processing the request for content, and the additional information comprising timestamp information associated with a first time corresponding to the first request for content from the first client computing device; transmit, by the service provider, at least one instruction causing the first client computing device to generate a second request for content based on the alternative identifier; wherein the second request is associated with a second address corresponding to a DNS resolver component; receive, by the service provider at a DNS server component, the second request for content based on the alternative identifier, the second request comprising a DNS query; correlate, by the service provider at the DNS server component, the at least a portion of the first address associated with the first client computing device and the additional information included in the DNS portion of the URL with the second address and a second time corresponding to the second request for content for comparison with the first time corresponding to the first request for content to form correlated information; obtain, by the service provider, a second DNS query from a second client computing device; and responsive to the second DNS query, at the service provider: determine a class associated with the second client computing device based at least in part on the correlated information; and resolve the second DNS query based on the determined class.
 10. The system as recited in claim 9, wherein the at least one instruction causing the first client computing device to generate the subsequent request for content comprises a URL of the service provider.
 11. The system as recited in claim 9, wherein the at least one instruction causing the first client computing device to generate the subsequent request for content comprises a URL of a content provider.
 12. The system as recited in claim 9, wherein the additional information in the DNS portion of the alternative identifier comprises additional information identifying the first client computing device.
 13. The system as recited in claim 9, wherein generating the alternative identifier responsive to the request for content from the first client computing device includes encrypting the at least a portion of the obtained first address associated with the first client computing device.
 14. The system as recited in claim 9, wherein the alternative identifier comprises a label representative of the at least a portion of the first address.
 15. The system as recited in claim 14, wherein the label representative of the at least a portion of the first address comprises a label representative of the timestamp information. 